"FDR" wrote in message ...
Looking through the Garden Tools by Lee Valley catalog, I came across a
tomato staking method using spirals. Basically, it's a 6 foot long piece of
metal that you push into the ground and it is spiraled all the way up. The
tomato plant grows into the spiral and gives natural support. The ad claims
that it is the most popular way to do it in Europe.

Has anybody actually tried these? They are $4.50 a piece and seem like a
bargain. I just don't know how sturdy they are.

I'd like to try staking this year. Just don't know what method to use.

It seems to be by the time you spiral a 6' piece of metal it's only
going to be about 4' high. Bury part of that in the ground, and it's
even less.... or are you saying it's 6' high?

Indeterminate tomatoes will grow higher than 6', so you may outgrow
this pretty quickly unless it really is 6' high.

Two things I use:

1. I have 3/4" electrical conduit (3 8' pieces forming an inverted U)
and a net that forms a climbing fence for the tomatoes (and other
veggies). This is pretty permanent, and it's very sturdy since the
strength is from the top. It supports cantaloupe with no problems.

2. This isn't as good, but it's much easier to construct, cheap, and
you can put it up and take it down pretty quickly. All of the
hardware stores sell "garden" fencing that's 3, 4, or 6' wide and
about 50' long. I cut this into 7-10' sections, curl them into an
exaggerated U, and secure it in the ground with a single 4' fencing
stake (the green kind with the little hooks that point up on the top
and down on the bottom). As long as the stake is secure, the fencing
does really well, even in heavy winds. If you make an O instead of a
U, it's even more secure, but it's harder to harvest the fruit if it
grows in the middle... especially melons.

With tomatoes, they have always needed minor assistance when climbing,
but I doubt that changes with the structure you choose.

One final note... the main disadvantage to both of these structures is
that it's a bear to protect the plants in hail storms, etc. But then
again, what do you expect when you have 7' high plants?